John Gibson: Norrie on a prop-er trip to Paris

John Gibson

Back from watching Scotland’s Six Nation’s hopes scuppered by France, Norrie Rowan nonetheless was flushed from excess.

I’ll say that again – flushed with success. Because he invariably takes something from watching Scotland in an international tussle. You’ll never find him on a downer.

Here over a mid-day repast at The Dome, the former Scotland prop told me: “Although it was a poor French side, we have to be more ambitious.

“That said, our new coach is a breath of fresh and he has the players up for it. We’ve got to be realistic, too. France has 8,000 rugby pros, most of them taking three-quarters of a million in wages, taxed at 10 per cent because there the government value their athletes.”

Norrie’s companions over the weekend were piper from Loanhead Jimi McRae and tenor Jamie McBride, Prestonpans’ answer to Pavarotti. They performed for the Scots fans in the Stade de France.

Bizarre, the entire escapade from the sounds of it.

Afterwords . . .

. . . Humility is his best-known trait.The pushy Piers Morgan, who now is resident in the States where he has become a household love-or-hate television personality, tells us: “I have more followers than eight British national newspapers put together have readers.” We are impressed, Piers. Honest.